Gladiola Bowman, Burlington
Gladiola Bowman of Burlington died Saturday, Feb. 24, 2007, at the Life Care Center in Burlington. She was 97.
Miss Bowman was elected county superintendent of Coffey County schools in 1949 and served as superintendent until 1961. She then taught at Central Park Elementary School in Topeka District 501 until she retired in 1973. Earlier, she taught for several years in rural schools in Coffey County and then at Edgerton Elementary School.
The daughter of John and May Rice Bowman, she was born July 1, 1909, near Ottumwa. She grew up on a farm west of Ottumwa and attended Kennedy Creek Rural School. She graduated from Burlington High School in 1928 and from Kansas State Teachers College in Emporia with bachelor’s and master’s degrees. After she retired, she moved to New Strawn where she lived until she moved to The Meadows in Burlington several years ago.
Miss Bowman was a member of the Burlington United Methodist Church. She also was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, the National Education Association, the No. 4 Club and the Ladies History Club.
She is survived by one niece, Cara Lee Furst of Sierra Vista, Ariz.; a great-niece and great-nephew; and a great-great-nephew. A brother, Louis Oscar Bowman, and a sister, Reta Fay Rich, died earlier.
The graveside service will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday in Bowman-Adgate Cemetery, northwest of Burlington. Friends may call until 7 p.m. today at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions to the Burlington High School Alumni Scholarship Foundation may be sent in care of the Jones Funeral Home, P.O. Box 277, Burlington, KS 66839.